Perpignon, then Narbonne to pick up our Volkswagon Passat hatchback, deisel,,,thank goodness with the price of gas $1.65 for gas and $1.32 for deisel. We then spent three nights in a hostel inside the castle of Carcasonne. It was a very basic accom but we could cook our own meals and there were three different school groups from France and Spain staying there for the kids to interact with. They are trying out more and more of their french as we travel and they understand a lot of what they hear in the markets, cafes; hostels etc.It was great exploring the castle with its medeival feel, drawbridge, cemetary and all the innovations to repel all attackers; We visited the museum of torture, ---- Dylan was our tour guide describing each form of torture which was realistically displayed and used during the Inquisition____ he remembered the models from his SS 8 and the real torture devices were as fascinating as they were horrific. We all had the same question --- who could inflict those tortures to another human being! We cycled one day down the canal and beside all the locks used by the river boats------ Justin was not impressed with a 3 hour bike ride to celebrate his 12th birthday----again he picked the wrong parents ! We did cook lasagna and choc cake so he went to bed less miffed. Next stop was Toulousse where Mike studied for one year at the U of Toulousse 30 years ago. Such a beautiful big city. Very pedestrian friendly, and bike rentals for 1 euro for the day! Bottle of wine, a baguette, cheese, couple of salads and you are set to sit by the river at night with the locals and tourists and enjoy a picnic or wander through the main square to listen to great music and check out the market for a wide variety of ocal produce or wares from morrocco.

We then headed to Les Ezies in the Dordogne region. We had a beautifully restored 2 bedroom farmhouse gite for a week complete with a huge grass field for petangue and a pool. It is by fqr the cheapest and the most comfortable way to stay in France. We easily settled into cooking all our meals and packing picnics for each of our day trips to the local caves, museums and castles. This is the region where the skeleton of Cro magnen man was discovered and also hundreds of original caveman drawings and artifacts dating back to Cro magnen times. The caves were large enough to travel 6 km by tiny train then to walk or go deep underground by boat. The more we saw, the more questions and fascination we had with the history of man and with the many inhabitants of the castles. Kids gravitated to the mammoth and giant rhino skeletons They are hooked on anything involving wildlife. The castles had many of the historical replicas of the weapons including great catapults, armour, etc.

Long driving day from Les Ezies to Avignon. We are in another gites. This time our one week stay is in a 500 year old former flour mill currently owned by a baron. Another place with so much character yet modern comforts too. We spent our first day travelling to the famous Roman aqueduct built in 54 AD called Pont De Gard. What an incredible engineering feat that still proudly stands over the Gardom river. It transported water to the Roman city of Nimes 30 miles away by dropping 1 inch every 350 feet.

No return ticket yet but still lots to do....... Bye for now Gail